The United Kingdom and India agreed to an “enhanced” trade relationship that could lead to a comprehensive free trade deal, the U.K.’s Department for International Trade said July 24. The two sides agreed to work toward removing a range of trade barriers, including U.K. export restrictions on pears and apples. The U.K. said it hopes to remove Indian trade barriers on the food, healthcare, information technology and chemicals sectors. “At this stage we want to keep all options on the table,” U.K. International Trade Secretary Liz Truss said in a statement, “including the possibility of a free trade agreement at some point in the future.”

The Environmental Protection Agency issued a final rule setting new significant new use rules (SNURs) under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for seven chemical substances that are subjects of premanufacture notices (PMNs). As a result of the SNURs, persons planning to manufacture, import or process any of the chemicals for an activity designated as a significant new use by this rule are required to notify EPA at least 90 days in advance. Importers of chemicals subject to these SNURs will need to certify their compliance with the SNUR requirements, and exporters of these chemicals will now become subject to export notification requirements. The final rule takes effect Sept. 28. The SNURs cover the following chemical substances:

Two European Parliament members urged the European Union to “swiftly” impose sanctions on China for human rights violations in Hong Kong and against Muslim minority groups. In a July 23 letter, MEPs Hilde Vautmans of Belgium and Katalin Cseh of Hungary called on EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell to more quickly create a human rights sanctions regime and provide a time table for the imposition of sanctions. Vautmans and Cseh said the EU should sanction Chinese leaders involved in infringing on Hong Kong’s autonomy and the mass detention of Uighurs. “We urge you to make progress with the drafting of the proposal,” Vautmans and Cseh said. Borrell said in December the EU was preparing a Magnitsky Act-style human rights sanctions regime (see 1912100046), and Parliament members have previously asked the EU to move faster (see 2004020016).

The U.S. extended for one year a national emergency that authorizes sanctions against people and entities engaged in terrorist activities, drug trafficking and other actions in Mali, the White House said July 23. The White House said activities in Mali continue to “pose an unusual and extraordinary threat” to the U.S. The extension is through July 26, 2021.

The aerospace industry applauded the U.S. decision to loosen export restrictions on unmanned aircrafts, saying the change may allow U.S. companies to better innovate and compete in emerging markets for new aircraft technologies. The decision, announced by the State Department July 24, will no longer subject exports of certain unmanned aerial systems to a “strong presumption of denial,” but will instead impose a case-by-case review policy on a “subset” of unmanned aircrafts that fly at speeds below 800 kph.

Combining trade software companies International Trade Systems and GMS International will result in “one of the most powerful cloud-based logistics software platforms on the market,” ITS said in a July 21 news release. “Representing second-generation companies that have been leaders in logistics technology for 30+ years, ITS and GMS are combining their assets, wisdom, and experience to form one powerhouse entity,” ITS said. The companies will jointly launch “ITS NextGen 2.0, a new and innovative system which will provide an integrated online customs brokerage and freight forwarding cloud-based platform,” it said.

The East African Community introduced several revisions to its import duty measures, including “duty remissions” for industrial imports and tariff exemptions on a range of medical goods, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council said in a July 22 report. The measures also allow EAC member states -- Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda -- to impose higher duty rates on garments, textiles, leather products, metal products, meat and tea imports to protect domestic production against cheaper imports. Member states can also issue “stays” of the EAC’s common external tariff application, which allow the states to defer imposing the CET rates for one year.

The United Kingdom’s Department for International trade on July 24 updated its overseas business risk for Bolivia. The guidance covers human rights, corruption and intellectual property issues for companies trading with Bolivia and includes a section on available U.K. export financing for shipments to the country.

Spain and France announced that Airbus is going to repay subsidy launch loans at market rates -- Germany and the United Kingdom have already been paid back -- and the European Commission said July 24 that this “removes any grounds for the U.S. to maintain its countermeasures on EU exports and makes a strong case for a rapid settlement of the long-running dispute.” The World Trade Organization ruled last year that Airbus and the four countries were not in compliance with industrial subsidy disciplines, and the U.S. imposed 10% tariffs on Airbus planes and 25% tariffs on various foods and beverages, and some apparel and tools (see 1910020044).

China will allow imports of certain dairy products from Croatia, the country’s General Administration of Customs said in a July 23 notice. The notice contains inspection and quarantine requirements for the imports.